Forced eSIMs

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Hardware

iPhone

Apple Has introduced Esim support alongside the release of the iPhone 12 series in quarter 4 of 2020. ^[1] apple has counited this feature to date. ^[2] in 2022 with the release of the iphone 14 series USA model iphones dropped support of nano sim^[3] "iPhone 14 models and later that are eSIM only can activate without a Wi-Fi network. How to set up an eSIM on iPhone." ^[4](the normal sim card most US and international users are familiar with.) in all other apple model varieties, INTERNATIONAL and CHINA. nano-sim remained supported outside the United States; by the 14 series, 15 series and 16 series. (most recent release as of writing 1/26/25.)

Future speculation

NOTE the sources below are not to this wiki's overall standards of credibility and will likely be changed to first party sources from the manufacturer later once more reliable information is available

iPhone 17 Air:

According to Unofficial preliminary specifications for the iphone 17 air, support for nano sim will be entirely dropped for the model.^[5] ^[6] this is based on rumors and speculations, however the psychical size of the device has been disclosed as "5.5mm" by Ming-Chi Kuo (a medium tech trade blogger described as: TF International Securities analyst. who Shares observations and predictions of tech industry trends.) would make nano sim support physically speaking a significant enough engineering challenge it's wide considered not viable & or unlikely. ^[7]

End note -

Samsung Galaxy

Samsung introduced e-sim support in 2020 with the Galaxy s20 series of phones and continues nano sim support to the current day as of writing ( with 2025's S25 series of Galaxy phones.) ^[8]

Google Pixel

all google pixel phones currently support nano sim ^[9]

Mobile carriers & Networks

United states Mobile phone networks

A fairly recent behavior of major mobile carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.) is that they may sometimes supply devices with a digital SIM card, or eSIM card. (Seriously, PLEASE expand upon this)^{[citation needed]}

Europe union Mobile phone networks^{[citation needed]}

basically not adopted in this market *

China's Mobile phone networks

References

[1] ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_12 https://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_12-10509.php https://www.apple.com/by/iphone-12/specs/

[2] ttps://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?chkESIM=selected&chkReview=selected&sMakers=48&sAvailabilities=1,2&s5Gs=0&idCardslot=3

[3] ttps://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_14-11861.php https://support.apple.com/en-us/118669

[4] ttps://support.apple.com/en-us/118669

[5] ttps://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_17_air-13502.php https://support.apple.com/en-us/101569

[6] ttps://www.macrumors.com/roundup/iphone-17/#sim_tray https://www.theinformation.com/articles/apples-thin-iphone-has-no-physical-sims-that-could-dampen-china-sales

[7] ttps://medium.com/@mingchikuo/apple%E5%9C%A82025%E5%B9%B4%E5%8F%AF%E8%83%BD%E5%B0%87%E9%9D%A2%E8%87%A8%E6%9B%B4%E7%82%BA%E5%9A%B4%E5%B3%BB%E7%9A%84%E6%8C%91%E6%88%B0-%E9%A0%88%E8%AC%B9%E6%85%8E%E9%9D%A2%E5%B0%8D%E5%B8%82%E5%A0%B4%E5%85%88%E5%89%8D%E9%81%8E%E5%BA%A6%E6%A8%82%E8%A7%80%E5%B0%8E%E8%87%B4%E7%9A%84%E6%BD%9B%E5%9C%A8%E4%B8%8B%E8%A1%8C%E9%A2%A8%E9%9A%AA-6256c091f06d

[8] ttps://www.gsmarena.com/samsung-phones-9.php

[9] ttps://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/7086887?hl=en#:~:text=You%20can%20connect%20your%20phone,of%20getting%20a%20new%20one.

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